Eco-Friendly Wedding: Green Your Stationary

If you're currently planning a wedding, have ever planned a wedding, or have ever helped someone plan a wedding, you know how many paper products are involved not only in the days leading up to the big event, but also on the day itself. There are engagement announcements, save the date cards, bridal shower invitations and thank you notes, wedding invitations, ceremony programs, reception place cards, menu cards, more thank you notes, and that's not all. Today, brides and grooms can select 100 percent recycled, partially recycled, or completely tree-free papers from wedding suppliers. In addition, more and more engaged couples are opting for electronic communication and creating wedding websites in order to cut down on paper and waste. To make your wedding day even more special for you and the planet, here are some environmentally friendly wedding invitation and stationary suppliers for you to choose from!

PLANET FRIENDLY STATIONARY COMPANIES

These eco-friendly wedding invitations and assorted cards and inserts are made of 100 percent post consumer recycled paper, without the use of new trees. All of Earthly Affair's envelopes are FSC-certified and are made with 100 percent post consumer waste and green energy, but without the use of chlorine. Unlike traditional offset printing, this company takes advantage of digital (flat) printing, which allows for them to print on demand, thereby lessening wasteful surplus. Earthly Affair's packaging is also either made of recycled content or recovered materials from their suppliers. They even re-use their own cardboard boxes and use newspaper for stuffing, and all their shipments are offset through CarbonFund.org!

Starting out making handmade, earth friendly paper wedding invitations from tree fibers, Of the Earth now offers complete wedding packages that include invitations, reply cards, reception cards, direction cards, and envelopes, as well as matching thank you notes, programs, and place cards. Of the Earth offers recycled options made with up to 100 percent fiber content claimed as a waste product from the cotton seed oil industry. Their handmade paper products are also made without the use of chemicals or other agents. You can even select to have invitations made with handmade seed paper that sprouts when planted.

Founded in 1998 as one of the first eco-friendly paper making studios and the first 100 percent recycled invitation company in the nation, Twisted Limb Paperworks is committed to the green wedding movement in every aspect of its business. At least half of their studio's energy is provided by green electricity, the water used in the papermaking process is recycled from the studio's dehumidifiers and air conditioning whenever possible, and 10 percent of their profits are donated to environmental conservation efforts every year. Twisted Limb Paperworks even carries a line of recycled paper made with the spent barley hulls from brewing Upland Beer. The result is not only sturdy and interestingly textured, but eco-friendly too! (See our article 15 Extraordinary Ways to Use Leftover Beer for more repurposing ideas!)

If you've read any of our tips on greening the home and office, you know how often we reference junk mail as a number one waste culprit. So it's refreshing to see a company like Green Field Paper producing tree-free paper with junk mail collected by its employees, clients, and friends! This truly original concept takes shredded junk mail and combines it with post consumer pulp to create 100 percent recycled, chemical- and additive-free, confetti-laden paper that's colored with earth pigments and printed with soy based inks! Brides and grooms can truly commemorate their special day with Green Field Paper's stationery that portrays recycling as an art form, and at the same time, demonstrate your dedication to the earth.